Indashyikirwa: Agents of Change for GBV Prevention

Project Title

Strengthening Prevention of Gender Based Violence in Rwanda

Country

Rwanda

The Programme

The DFID-funded Indashyikirwa programme is a community-level Gender based Violence (GBV) prevention programme that is being implemented in 14 sectors across seven districts of Rwanda, from 2015 to 2019. It is being implemented by CARE International and partners Rwandan Men's Resource Centre (RWAMREC) and Rwanda Women's Network (RWN).

The programme consists of a package of interventions designed to work at an individual, family and community level to shift attitudes, practices and social norms that perpetuate gender inequality and GBV. The interventions will include:

Dialogue and awareness raising on gender and GBV with the members of Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) through GBV 'peer educators' elected within VSLA groups;

Implementation of a gender transformative curriculum called "Journeys of Transformation +" with couples and further outreach to other couples and families through establishing 'Gender Clubs' at sector level; and

Training of community activists using the SASA! Approach developed in Uganda, which aims to bring about wider change at a community level;

The programme builds on a previous promising programme ISARO, implemented by the same NGO partners in Rwanda's Southern Province.

Research and how it will benefit the field of prevention

The What Works consortium is conducting an impact evaluation and operations research on the CARE International 'Indashyikirwa' programme over a four-year period to collect evidence on what works to prevent violence against women and girls in Rwanda, and why these interventions are successful. The impact evaluation is examining the impact of interventions on addressing key risk factors for GBV as well as the prevalence of GBV. The operations research will include qualitative research and is tracking the project's implementation, to understand how interventions work in different contexts, and to assess whether and why interventions are influencing change. It is also assessing how the project can be implemented in successful ways that provide value for money.